Yadkinville Solar

3.5 MW AC | Yadkinville, NC | Commissioned Dec. 2015

Developer plans $12M Triad solar farm                                                                                                                   Triad Business Journal                                                                                                                                               By Katie Arcieri

JULY 20, 2015: O2 EMC, a Cornelius-based developer of solar farms across the Southeast, is planning to build a $12 million, 3.5-megawatt solar farm in Yadkinville that will generate up to 100 jobs during construction.

The Yadkinville farm is one of four solar farms that O2 emc is building in North Carolina this year, including a 20-megawatt plant in Montgomery County. "Yadkinville Solar" will add to several other Triad farms that O2 emc has completed, including two in Surry County. One is a 3.5-megawatt farm while the other is a 1.2-megawatt farm.

Located at 2323 Old US 421, Yakdinville Solar will cover about 18 acres on land that previously served as a grass runway for small airplanes. It is located just over a mile from Unifi's Repreve recycling plant, where Unifi (NYSE: UFI) also operates a 1-megawatt solar farm through a partnership with Duke Energy.

Joel Olsen, president of O2 EMC, told the Triad Business Journal that construction on the Yadkinville farm is expected to begin in October. The contractor, United Renewable Energy, will complete the farm by the first quarter.

Olsen expects the farm to be producing energy by the end of the year and sell power to Duke Energy for about 6.5 cents per kilowatt hour.

Yadkinville Solar is also expected to increase the local property tax base by about $2 million, and will not require county services such as water and sewer.

Olsen said the runway location was ideal for the solar farm because it's close to the electrical load of Yadkinville and located on a piece of land that would be difficult to use for other projects because of its thin, narrow shape.

And while his company has numerous solar farms in the eastern part of the state, "we like working closer to home," Olsen said.

“This one is right on the way to our solar farm in Mount Airy,” he said.

On Friday, O2 EMC will meet with local stakeholders to announce the project to the public.